A Thousand Years Too Late
by Suzume Suzuki
Summary: Short little story regarding Sai and the woman he loved. One-shot. I'd be glad to get some feedback! Disclaimer: I don't own Sai or Hikaru


"Sai! It's Sai!"

The palace maidens exclaimed in delight and hurriedly clamored over him, fussing and squealing.

Sai chuckled good-naturedly as he was surrounded by a crowd of young women. They adored him, Fujiwara no Sai, the Go Master.

However, as Sai cast his gaze forward, he noticed that one woman did not join the rest of the harlem.

This was Chiyoto.

This was the woman he loved.

She wasn't beautiful, but she was pretty. Her eyes were bright and glowing orbs, her lips were soft and pink, and her skin was pale and creamy. Her eyelashes fluttered every time she blinked. And her hair, they were long, black, and luscious.

Chiyoto was kneeling on the wooden floor before a goban. When she saw Sai, she asked, sweetly and innocently, "Won't you play?"

Sai was not fooled by her honeyed voice. Her sharp, intelligent gaze hinted that she was a formidable opponent.

"Of course," Sai replied as he headed over to seat himself across her in front of the Go board, "It would be my pleasure to play with you."

The other girls gasped in excitement, forming a circle around the two experienced Go players in anticipation of the upcoming match. They giggled and of them whispered, "Sai will easily beat her."

Sai raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chiyoto to see her reaction. If she was annoyed or perturbed at the not-so-quiet comment, she did not show it.

Nigiri was performed to settle who would play first. Chiyoto took the black stones and Sai was left with the white stones. Chiyoto was the first to play.

Silently, she expertly placed a black stone on the goban. Sai proceeded to place a white stone on the board.

Back and forth, they placed their colored stones on the goban. After a while, the simple game was transformed into a complex and dangerous game. One wrong move and it could be the end for either of them.

Hiding how hard he was struggling, Sai masked his face into a long, brooding look. He thought carefully of where to place his stone and considered his options.

As he thought, his gaze wandered over to Chiyoto's face.

She was staring at the board, her expression unreadable. She too, was probably also thinking where to move next, though that will partly depend on Sai's move.

Chiyoto felt his gaze on her, and looked up to stare straight back into his eyes. For a moment, it was just them as they gazed, transfixed, at each other in some sort of spell. Their audience seemed to cease to exist.

Then, she smiled and the enchantment was broken. She smiled and asked, almost tauntingly, "Well, are you going to play?"

So Sai did.

* * *

A thousand years later, Sai trailed behind Hikaru through the bustling streets of modern Japan, as a ghost with an overwhelming desire to continue playing Go.

"I want to play, I want to play, Hikaru, you meanie!" He whined in the boy's conscious, much to Hikaru's annoyance.

"Alright, alright, we'll play! We're heading over right now!"

Some of the pedestrians turned their heads to stare at Hikaru in confusion and wonder. Sai, in the middle of celebrating his happiness, warned Hikaru sharply.

Just then, a teenage girl appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and Hikaru crashed into her.

"Ouch!" She cried and exclaimed angrily, "Watch where you're going!"

"Sor-ry," Hikaru muttered and thought, _Who does she think she is? Right, Sai?_

But Sai was staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at her with almost unbelieving eyes.

The girl resembled Chiyoto exactly. The same eyes, the same mouth, the same everything. Sai could recognize her anywhere.

He trembled slightly when he called her name.

She didn't hear him.

Sai reached for her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

She couldn't feel his touch. Nor could she see him.

He was not alive. He was a mere ghost with an insatiable hunger to play Go. She could not have possibly noticed him.

Sai felt an agonizing despair. His despair grew worse when remembered that the woman he loved had been dead - for a thousand years. The girl he had just met was not Chiyoto; it was her reincarnation.

_What are you doing?! Hurry up or I'll leave you behind!_ Hikaru thought irritably at Sai.

"Yes, yes, sorry!" Sai called after him and hastily ran over to catch up.

Hikaru rolled his eyes as he walked.

When Sai glanced back, the girl was nowhere to be seen.

Too late. If he wanted to confess his love, he would be a thousand years too late.


End file.
